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His Al-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presides over the
Orthros and Synodal Divine Liturgy and concelebrates with the
Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches at Saints Peter and Paul
Church in Chania, Crete. © John Mindala

planned venue of the Council in St Irene in Constantinople, the place of the
Second Ecumenical Council in 381, was no longer prudent. So the Council met
at the Orthodox Academy in Crete instead. Preparation for the Council has
involved many levels of Church life but the final planning was done in 2016 by a
‘synaxis’ or assembly of the Primates of the churches (together with some other
delegates) meeting at Chambesy, Geneva.
Nevertheless, in spite of the planning unexpected things can happen.
Two weeks before the Council the Bulgarian Orthodox Church announced it
would not be attending after all, and then the Patriarchate of Antioch
withdrew because of a dispute with the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Church
of Georgia also declined. On Monday (13 June) there was a special session of
the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate. It stressed that the Patriarchate
had supported the proposals for a Council but it also noted the need not only
for consensus but actual unanimity. Without necessarily endorsing other
problems it noted that some Churches had criticised the drafts texts on

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